Kilij Arslan IV

Kilij Arslan IV
Rare coin minted under Kilij Arslan IV at Sivas in 1248/49
Sultan of Rum
Reign	1246/1249–1254[1] (first rule) 1257–1266 (second rule)
Co-sultans	Kayqubad II (1249–1254) Kaykaus II (1249–1254) and (1257–1262)
Predecessor	Kaykhusraw II
Successor	Kayqubad II
Predecessor	Kayqubad II
Successor	Kaykhusraw III
Born	1237 or 1240
Died	1265 (aged 25 or 28)
Consort	Gumaḉ Khatun[2] Fatima Khatun Gazalya Khatun
Issue	Saljuk Khatun, Kaykhusraw III
Names Rukn ad-Dīn Qilij Arslān ibn Kaykhusraw
House	Seljuk
Father	Kaykhusraw II
Mother	A Greek concubine[1]
Religion	Islam

Kilij Arslan IV (Old Anatolian Turkish: قِلِج اَرسلان) or Rukn ad-Dīn Qilij Arslān ibn Kaykhusraw (Persian: رکن الدین قلیچ ارسلان بن کیخسرو) was Seljuk Sultan of Rûm after the death of his father Kaykhusraw II in 1246.

However, a jarlig issued by Güyük Khan confirmed him as sultan over his elder brother, Kaykaus II in 1248.^[3] But this jarlig would quickly be worthless after Güyük's death in the same year. Later, Arslan's supporters killed Shams al-Din Isfahani, a supporter of his brother, Kaykaus II (a rival to the throne). The death of Isfahani's successor in 1254, Jalāl-al-Din Qaraṭāy, left a power vacuum which was filled by competition by supporters of the two brothers. Eventually, Kaykaus II would emerge the victor in 1256.^[4]

In the 1260s, Mu'in al-Din Parwana redistributed Seljuk crown lands among his followers. He did this to secure his position but would be met with protests from Arslan. This eventually led to Arslan's execution in 1265 by Parwana.^[4]

References

1. "KILICARSLAN IV (ö. 664/1266) Anadolu Selçuklu sultanı (1249-1254, 1257-1266).". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016.
2. Yetkin 1961, p. 360.
3. Saunders 2001, p. 98.
4. "Saljuqs". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-07-11.

Sources

• Hillenbrand, Carole (1993). "Muʿīn al-Dīn Sulaymān Parwāna". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VII: Mif–Naz. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 479–480. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
• Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols and the Islamic World: From Conquest to Conversion. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300125337. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctt1n2tvq0. (registration required)
• Peacock, Andrew (2010). "Saljuqs iii. Saljuqs of Rum". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Peacock, A.C.S.; Yıldız, Sara Nur, eds. (2012). The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1848858879.
• Saunders, J. J. (2001). The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Yetkin, S. Kemal (1961). "The Turbeh of Gumaç Hatun, a Seljūk Monument". Ars Orientalis. 4.

Preceded by ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kay Kāwus II (1246–1262)

Sultan of Rum 1249–1266

Succeeded by Ghiyāth ad-DīnKay Khusraw III (1266–1282)